WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels will soon add “former Purdue president” to his resume.
The Purdue Board of Trustees announced Friday that Dr. Mung Chiang will replace Daniels, whose retirement goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
Daniels has served as Purdue’s president since January 2013. Chiang is currently the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering and Executive Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. He came to Purdue from Princeton University, where he was professor of electric engineering.
He earned his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at Stanford University.
In Chiang’s five years in West Lafayette, he’s guided the college to its highest rankings ever while growing the university at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He will continue to work on strategic initiatives while transitioning from his role as dean to Daniels’ successor as president.
Chiang called his elevation to president the “highest and most humbling honor.”
Daniels took over at Purdue in January 2013. Weeks into his presidency, he announced a tuition freeze. Purdue announced in December that it approved a tuition freeze for an 11th consecutive year. Daniels expanded Purdue’s physical and online footprint, and created Purdue Polytechnic Schools in Indianapolis and South Bend.
Fundraising has also been strong under Daniels’ presidency. He’s credited with Launching the Purdue Day of Giving and guiding the Ever True fundraising campaign, which has raised more than $2.5 billion.
Gov. Eric Holcomb released a statement:
My partner and friend, President Daniels, is part of a generation of proud Boilermakers who take small steps and turn them into giant leaps. Purdue University always has been a world class institution with successful graduates spanning the globe, and Mitch has taken the university to even higher levels.
During his 10 years at the helm, Mitch has delivered higher education at the highest proven value, from freezing tuition during his entire tenure, to creating a national online university, establishing a network of Indiana STEM charter schools, and making record investments in world-class research.
He has always kept Purdue’s land-grant mission as its core strategy and spent each day opening the doors of higher education to every Hoosier willing to put in the work to be a Boilermaker.
